Global Cold Chain News

Demand for transport sector staff rises in UK

12th March 2013

Birmingham, UK: Demand for staff in the transport sector is rising, according to employment company, Manpower Group.

The transport sector’s Net Employment Outlook has accelerated into positive territory and now stands at +17%, the company says. This is an increase of 19 percentage points on last quarter and the most positive outlook we have seen since before the recession.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on responses from 2,100 UK employers about whether they intend to hire additional workers or reduce the size of their workforce in the coming economic quarter. It is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind and is used as a key economic statistic by both the Bank of England and the UK government. The national Seasonally Adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +6% indicates sustained optimism in the UK jobs market, building on the first quarter of 2013 when the Outlook was also +6% and demonstrating that the jobs market shows no sign of slowing down.

“We are pleased to see that the Outlook in the Transport sector has moved firmly into positive territory, and is the most positive number we have seen for eight years”, says Simon Edwards, Manpower sector director – logistics.

“We often see that the picture in the transport sector can be a good indicator of economic feeling – for example 60%+ of goods are distributed by road – however this may be a rebalance of the past year’s hiring freezes and reductions or that the time has now arrived to increase staffing levels as companies look forward – either way this Outlook bodes well for us all. It is also important to remember that this is a very diverse sector, encompassing everything from shipping and freight to courier and home delivery services. We are also seeing a return of skills shortages during peak demand periods at all levels; not only in the traditional areas of driver resource but also at mid to senior management levels. The logistics industry is an important GDP generator and requires new entrants from diverse backgrounds to ensure its future success.”

“While the national Outlook is as positive as it has been for many years, black spots still remain in other sectors. Construction remains in a “hole” lot of trouble with an outlook of -11%. Although this represents an improvement on last quarter, the Construction sector has now recorded a negative outlook every quarter for the last 5 years.

“Another strong sector this time round is Business and Finance services, which shows a score of +13%. But with investment banks continuing to make cuts, many of the jobs created in Finance are the direct result of the mis-selling of PPI and Interest Rate Swaps. These scandals have spawned a new industry dealing with the fallout.

“It’s not only in the private sector that jobs are being created. ManpowerGroup has detected that, following years of belt tightening, there is a renewed interest in public sector hiring. Indeed this survey suggests that public sector hiring is actually set to outpace private sector hiring in the second quarter of 2013,” the company says.